II Timothy 1:1-12
Audio File is at the end of this text.
Paul was an old man when he wrote to his protege, Timothy. Paul had gone on to Macedonia and left Timothy to lead the church at Ephesus and Paul knew that Timothy needed encouragement to stand strong. Audio File is at the end of this text.
Paul throws down the gauntlet and in verses 7-10 he writes, "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. He has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel."
The concept of eternal life is brand new at the time of this writing. It is hard for us to imagine this situation but do we live our lives confident of the resurrection? Do we really believe that we will follow Jesus' path to eternal life with him? Paul is challenging us to live what we say we believe. He is saying that our lives should be lived boldly, with no fear. We should be walking and talking our faith and standing out in the crowd of the timid and cautious. Paul says we have a holy calling and we must stand strong and say with him, "I couldn't be more sure of my ground--the One I've trusted in can take care of what he's trusted me to do right to the end."
I say, live like Jesus is standing right next to you because he is.
